US red flags just rev up bullish Poults
IAN POULTER reckons the red of Whistling Straits is like a rag to his European bull.
The Englishman is fired-up for the Ryder Cup showdown against the United States and desperate for a cherished away win.
Poulter has won five of his six matches against the Americans but only two on foreign soil including the Miracle of Medinah nine years ago.
The pumped-up Londoner says everything is stacked against Padraig Harrington’s underdogs going into the Wisconsin crunch against the home superstars.
But that has only heightened Poulter’s desire to blast to a famous win on Sunday. And the surroundings being decked in US red is merely fuelling the fires.
Poulter said: “The course set-up this week is heavily weighed to the US as opposed to how we set things up back in Europe. So I guess everything is stacked against us.
“When you have that, when you can go in as underdogs, when you can turn the tide and actually come out victorious, it means a little bit more.
“It’s a great buzz. You only have to look around and all the grandstands are red.
“Everything you look at, the fans, 98 per cent are going to be US this week. It’s difficult from start to finish. It’s hard. It’s not easy to play away from home.
“As much as we feel comfortable as a team to know we’re underdogs, we have to play extra special to get the job done.”
Poulter can’t say it would mean more than Medinah at this stage but added: “We’ll see how it pans out to see if or how you want to place the event.
“I’m always looking at the highlight reel. It’s pretty hard not to when you’re social media busy and there’s often highlights of all the good things you’ve kind of done. Medinah’s one of those.
“It’s good to get those positive vibes, a bit of confidence and enjoy watching the celebrations. If we can come out on top Sunday night, it will be a pretty special one.”